Combined odor controlling animal litter

ABSTRACT

The invention provides, in one embodiment, an odor controlling animal litter comprising: a) adsorbent or absorbent particles; and b) an ammonia-controlling-effective amount of i) pine oil and ii) boric acid applied onto the particles. The litter can also include further adjuncts, such as fragrances, other antimicrobial additives, and the like.

RELATED APPLICATION

This a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/705,278, filed May 24,1991, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,743, itself a continuation of applicationSer. No. 07/370,476, filed Jun, 23, 1989, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,482,which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.07/208,953, of Steven D. Ratcliff et al., filed Jun. 17, 1988, Now U.S.Pat No. 4,949,672, the disclosure of which is wholly incorporated hereinby reference thereto.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to an animal litter at least a portion of whichhas been contacted with an antimicrobially-effective amount of pine oilcombined with an effective amount of boric acid, or a boron-containingmaterial having an equivalent boron level.

2. Brief Description of Related Art

Because of the growing number of domestic animals used as house pets,there is a need for litters so that animals may micturate, void orotherwise eliminate liquid or solid waste indoors in a controlledlocation. However, inevitably, waste build-up leads to malodorproduction.

Pine oil has been suggested in the prior art as a fragrance only, forapplication to a litter. For example, Frazier, U.S. Pat. No. 4,085,704,discloses the impregnation of an inorganic carrier vehicle, such assilica gel or mullite. Also, Colborn, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,231(of common assignment) discloses the microencapsulation of fragrances,including pine oil, via a polymeric slurry, which is then sprayed onto aportion of litter particles, and dried.

Miller et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,675,625, disclose a litter which is"activated" by heating and then contacted with an odor control agent,such as pine oil, citrus oil, camphor or the like.

Still further, it has been suggested that a borax/boric acid mixture ata pH of 4-4.5 could be added to a cellulose litter containing apheromone. (Christianson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,263,873). Yet further, inRatcliff et al., commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No.07/208,953, filed Jun. 17, 1988, an odor control animal litter has beendisclosed and has claimed a clay-based, particulate substrate to whichhas been applied a liquid carrier containing a boron-containing materialat a critical level of at least 0.06% equivalent boron.

However, the art does not disclose, teach, suggest or recognize thecombination of pine oil and boric acid as a dual odor controlling systemwhen applied to animal litters. Finally, the art has no taught,disclosed or suggested that either or both of these odor controllingmaterials can be used in conjunction with aluminum salts for effectiveammonia control.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides an odor controlling animal litter comprising

(a) adsorbent or absorbent particles; and

(b) an ammonia-controlling-effective odor controlling combination of i)an effective amount of pine oil and ii) an effective amount of boricacid, or its equivalent, preferably carried onto said particles via aliquid dispersion.

The invention also comprises a method of delivering anammonia-controlling-effective amount of an odor controlling agent to ananimal litter which method comprises contacting the litter, with anaqueous dispersion of a mixture of an ammonia-controlling-effectiveamount of pine oil and boric acid or its equivalent.

It is therefore an objective of this invention to provide an odorcontrolling animal litter.

It is a further objective of this invention to provide a low cost,highly effective odor controlling material for animal litter.

It is a still further object of this invention to effectively disperseconsistently the odor controlling agents, pine oil combined with boricacid (or its equivalent), onto the litter particles so as to maximizethe odor controlling benefit.

It is still another object of this invention to combine pine oil andboric acid (or its equivalent) as an odor controlling system, preferablyby using a liquid carrier for simultaneous delivery, on an animallitter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention provides an odor controlling animal litter for useby domestic animals. It is well understood that soiled animal littersbecome malodorous due to the decomposition of nitrogenous productspresent in animal waste. The breakdown of these nitrogenous productsinto ammonia is believed to be mediated by enzymes produced by manybacteria and other microflora. As an example, urease acts as a catalystto break down urea into ammonia via the following chemical pathway.##STR1##

Thus, odor formation can be controlled or mitigated through the use ofmaterials which are toxic to bacteria and other microflora which produceenzymes which decompose nitrogenous products.

It has been surprisingly discovered that pine oil can, in combinationwith boric acid, or its boron equivalent, in antimicrobially-effectiveamounts, control odor formation by controlling microbial decompositionof nitrogenous products, not merely by masking malodors.

1. Pine-Oil Odor Controlling Agent:

Pine oil is a complex blend of oils, alcohols, acids, esters, aldehydesand other organic compounds. These include terpenes, which include alarge number of related alcohols or ketones. Some important constituentsinclude terpineol, which is one of three isomeric alcohols having thebasic molecular formula C₁₀ H₁₇ OH. Other important compounds includesalpha- and beta-pinene (turpentine), abietic acid (rosin), and otherisoprene derivatives. Further, the apparent fragrance or strength ofsuch fragrance, in a particular pine oil is not necessarily correlatableto the particular pine oil's germicidal activity.

Particularly effective pine oils appear to be Unipine 60 (Union Camp,which is believed to contain 61% terpene alcohols, 37% terpenehydrocarbons, remainder: moisture and miscellaneous) and Unipine 90(Union Camp, about 95% terpene alcohols, 4% terpene hydrocarbons,remainder: moisture and miscellaneous). Other concentrated products,which can contain up to 97% pure alpha-terpineol, have been used withsuccess. In the present invention, the levels of pine oil as low as 0.1%(47% active) have been found to be effective odor control agents.Additionally, the range of pine oil that should be aammonia-controlling-effective amount vary from about 0.001 to 50% byweight of the composition, more preferably 0.05-25%, and most preferably0.1-10%, by weight of the composition.

As discussed in the background of the invention, above at least threereferences have discussed the use of pine oil as a fragrance additive.However, two of the references (Frazier, U.S. Pat. No. 4,085,704;Colborn et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,231) either impregnate pine oil inan inorganic, porous carrier vehicle, or completely encapsulate with anorganic coating, so as to provide, respectively, a slow-release product,or one which does not release at all except by fracturing of themicrocapsule. The third (Miller et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,675,625), on theother hand, teaches that the pine oil must be added to litter underapparently anhydrous conditions to avoid the presence of water. None,however, teaches that pine oil combined with boric acid (or itsequivalent) provide surprisingly effective ammonia control which issuperior to that of pine oil alone (although pine oil alone can be aneffective ammonia-controlling agent). Applicants, on the other hand,have surprisingly found that pine oil plus boric acid (or itsequivalent) act as an odor controlling system for animal litters bypreventing ammonia formation, rather than merely by masking odors.

In the invention, it is preferred to deliver the pine oil and boric acid(or its equivalent) in a liquid vehicle onto at least a portion of thelitter. This has the advantages of dispersing uniform amounts of theactives together and to control the amount of actives such that there isthe maximum available for use. (However, it may also be possible to addthe two components separately, depending on manufacturing conditions.)Because a relatively small amount of pine oil is being applied to thelitter, uneven application could result unless a diluting medium wereused. Water is very advantageous for use here because: it is aninexpensive medium and avoids the potential hazards of solvents.Additionally, it has the benefit of solubilizing the other component,boric acid.

Accordingly, a key aspect of the invention is to contact the litterparticles with an aqueous dispersion of water, the pine oil, the boricacid and a dispersion aid which uniformly disperses the materials in thewater. The preferred dispersion aids are surfactants, although solventsand hydrotropes may be appropriate (but not as preferred). Thesurfactants are selected from anionic, nonionic, cationic, amphotericsurfactants, and mixtures thereof. Suitable surfactants may be found inKirk-Othmer, Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, 3rd Edition, Vol 22,pages 346-387 (1983), and McCutcheons's Detergents and Emulsifiers,North American Edition, 1983, both of which are incorporated herein byreference.

Especially suitable surfactants are nonionic surfactants. Those whichhave an HLB of about 9-14, more preferably about 10-13, are favored.These include ethoxylated and propoxylated fatty alcohols, andethoxylated and propoxylated alkyl phenols, having both with alkylchains of about 7-16, more preferably about 8-13 carbons in length. Apreferred ethoxylated alcohol is Neodol 91-8, a C₉₋₁₁ fatty alcohol withabout 8 moles of ethylene oxide per mole of alcohol, from Shell ChemicalCompany. A preferred ethoxylated alkyl phenol is Triton X-102, andethoxylated octylphenol with about 10-12 moles of ethylene oxide permole of alcohol. A mixture of Neodol 91-8 and Triton X-102 is alsopreferred.

The surfactants can be selected and amounts used to give best results indispersing the pine oil, giving good stability and obtaining lack ofphase separation. It is preferred to use the surfactants in about 0.001to 1% by weight of the treated litter, more preferably about 0.005 to0.5% by weight of the treated litter. In the aqueous dispersion, thesurfactant will comprise about 0.05 to 10%, more preferably 0.1 to 5% byweight of the dispersion. Concurrently, in the dispersion, the pine oilconstituent will comprise about 0.03 to 50%, more preferably 2 to 25%,most preferably 4 to 15%, by weight of the dispersion. Further, thesurfactant will be in proportion to the pine oil at a ratio of about0.01 to 1, more preferably 0.1 to 1 of total surfactant to pine oil.

2. Boron-Based Odor Control Additive:

The other component of the invention is boric acid, or an equivalentboron compound providing the same amount of equivalent boron level. See,Kirk Othmer, Encyclopedia Chemical Technology, 3rd Ed., Vol. 4, pp.71-77 (1978), incorporated herein by reference. Although Applicantsrefer, from time to time herein, to commonly assigned U.S. ApplicationSer. No. 07/208,953, filed Jun. 17, 1988, said application is alsoincorporated by reference thereto as if fully set forth herein.

Boric acid has the structure H₃ BO₃. Boric acid appears to providemultiple benefits in odor control by: (1) acting as a urease inhibitor,which controls odors by preventing enzymatic breakdown of urea; (2)apparently having bacteriostatic properties, which appear to helpcontrol odor by controlling the growth of bacteria which are responsiblefor production of the urease enzymes; and (3) possibly, lowering the pHof the litter thereby neutralizing basic material such as ammonia andamines of animal waste products.

Borax (Na₂ B₄ O₇ ×10H₂ O) is another suitable compound for use in theinvention. Other boron-based compounds potentially suitable for use aredisclosed in Kirk-Othmer, supra, pp. 67-109, said pages beingincorporated herein by reference. In fact, as further discussed below,it appears that the active boron material in the preferred embodiment ofthis invention is actually a mixture of polyborate species, which isformed in situ in a liquid carrier; or it could be separatelymanufactured, dried, and used. Combinations of boric acid and borax, orother boron-based compounds, are also included in the invention.

An odor controlling effective amount is defined as at least about 0.06%equivalent boron, more preferably at least greater than 0.06%. Thepreferred range varies from about 0.06 to about 50%, by weight of thecomposition. It is more specially preferred that 0.1 to 25%, and mostpreferably, about 0.1 to 10%, by weight of the composition be used.Assuming the critical level is attained, those skilled in the art willadjust the compositional levels to ensure effective odor control andcost effectiveness.

In the following discussion, equivalent boron is defined as the amountof atomic boron delivered in wt. %. Equivalent boron is determined bycalculating the amount of atomic boron in a boron-containing compound,and comparing it to another boron containing compound. E.g., assuming 1g boric acid and 1 g borax, equivalent boron is: ##EQU1##

Thus, borax has 64.87% of the amount of equivalent boron compared to 1 gboric acid.

The boron-containing materials are powdered or comminuted solids, andare combined with a liquid carrier as disclosed in co-pendingApplication Ser. No. 07/208,953, and demonstrated below, in theEXPERIMENTAL section. The carrier is water or water and a solvent,emulsifier or a hydrotrope, as necessary. It is essential to add theadditive via liquid carrier to evenly distribute the additive to thelitter material.

3. Litter Materials:

A wide variety of materials can be used for litters. For example, porousclays are readily adaptable for use as the absorbent substrates neededfor litters. Suitable litters include aluminosilicates, such asattapulgite, bentonite, montmorillonite; fossilized plant materials;expanded perlites; zeolites; gypsum and other equivalent materials knownto those skilled in the art. Sawdust, wood chips, paper or othercellulose based materials can be utilized. For instance, compactedpaper, or processed, recycled pulp can be suitable for use, such asdisclosed in Sokolowski et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,862, and Fleischeret al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,621,011, both of which are incorporated hereinby reference. Other litter materials can be used, such as fruit andvegetable wastes, e.g., Fry et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,923,005. The litterparticles have an average particle diameter of 50-5,600 microns,preferably about 100-500 microns. It is beneficial to obtain uniformsizing (such as by screening or sieving) and to have low amounts offines, which will generate dust. Those skilled in the art will varyparticle size so as to optimize absorbency/adsorbency, and to controldusting or tracking by the animal.

4. Adjunct Materials:

Aluminum salts can be used to obtain an additional benefit, amongst themost important adjunct materials. A favored aluminum salt is hydratedaluminum oxide (Al₂ O₃). A typical salt is a trihydrated aluminumsalt/sodium chloride mixture. Although prior art has disclosed thataluminum salts have been used in animal bedding, see, e.g., Sawyer etal., U.S. Pat. No. 3,029,783, and Sawyer et al., U.S. Pat. No.2,895,873, there is previously no recognition, teaching or suggestionthat these aluminum salts could be combined with pine oil and/or boricacid to provide an odor control benefit. Also, certain polymers can beadded which are so-called "superabsorbent" polymers to efficiently wickliquid wastes and entrap them, further bolstering odor control. Furtheradjunct materials that are suitable for use include dyes and pigments,such as suitably treated titanium dioxide. Additional and differentgermicides such as quaternary ammonium compounds, and certain3-isothiazolones (sold under the trademark KATHON®, Rohm and Haas), andchemical deodorants, such as sodium bicarbonate, can be utilized. Otherodor controlling agents such as heavy metals (see, e.g., Rodriquez etal., U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,481), enzyme inhibitors (see Heitfeld et al.,U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/223,502, filed Jul. 25, 1988, ofcommon assignment hereof, and incorporated by reference herein), andreducing agents, such as sodium thiosulfate or sodium bisulfite (see,e.g., Anderson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,421,664). Also, in conjunctionwith the litter, superabsorbent polymers, whether, used as box liners,cut into discrete pieces, or formed into particles, can be utilized,such as suggested in Arnold, U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,482, Insley, U.S. Pat.No. 4,650,479, and Yanaton, U.S. Pat. No. 4,469,046 and 4,640,225.Further, fragrances, which are used to mask odors can be used. Thefragrances can be uncoated (e.g., fragrance blends) or encapsulated (asin Colborn et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,231). Further adjuncts includededusting compounds or agents, such as water-soluble polymeric resins,e.g., polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, polyacrylic acid,xanthan gum, gum arabic, other natural resins, and mixtures of any ofthese resins.

In the EXPERIMENTAL section which follows, Applicants furtherdemonstrate the surprising and dramatic results which are obtained whenpine oil is added as an odor controlling agent to animal litters.

EXPERIMENTAL

In the following examples, stable formulations to be applied to thelitters were formulated:

EXAMPLE 1

    ______________________________________                                                                 Product                                              Ingredient     Formula % Delivery %.sup.1                                     ______________________________________                                        Water          76.4      2.29                                                 Boric Acid     15.0      0.45                                                 NaOH           2.7       0.08                                                 Surfactant 1.sup.2                                                                           0.3       0.01                                                 Surfactant 2.sup.3                                                                           0.6       0.02                                                 Pine Oil.sup.4 5.0       0.15                                                                100.0     3.00                                                 ______________________________________                                         .sup.1 12 g of liquid formula are sprayed onto 400 g of Georgia clay          litter (OilDri Corporation), resulting in the percentages of product          (formula) delivered onto the clay particles.                                  .sup.2 C.sub.8 alkyl ethoxylated phenol nonionic surfactant (12-13 moles      of ethylene oxide per mole of phenol).                                        .sup.3 C.sub.9-11 ethoxylated alcohol (8 moles of ethylene oxide per mole     of alcohol).                                                                  .sup.4 Pine Oil, 47% active.                                             

EXAMPLE 2

    ______________________________________                                                                 Product                                              Ingredient     Formula % Delivery %                                           ______________________________________                                        Water          74.4      2.23                                                 Boric Acid     15.0      0.45                                                 NaOH           2.7       0.08                                                 Surfactant 1   0.4       0.01                                                 Surfactant 2   0.8       0.02                                                 Pine Oil       6.7       0.20                                                                100.0     2.99                                                 ______________________________________                                    

EXAMPLE 3

    ______________________________________                                                                 Product                                              Ingredient     Formula % Delivery %                                           ______________________________________                                        Water          80.3      2.41                                                 Boric Acid     10.0      0.30                                                 NaOH           1.8       0.06                                                 Surfactant 1   0.4       0.01                                                 Surfactant 2   0.8       0.02                                                 Pine Oil       6.7       0.20                                                                100.0     3.00                                                 ______________________________________                                    

EXAMPLE 4

    ______________________________________                                                                 Product                                              Ingredient     Formula % Delivery %                                           ______________________________________                                        Water          72.4      2.17                                                 Boric Acid     16.7      0.50                                                 NaOH           3.0       0.09                                                 Surfactant 1   0.4       0.01                                                 Surfactant 2   0.8       0.02                                                 Pine Oil       6.7       0.20                                                                100.0     2.99                                                 ______________________________________                                    

FORMULATION PROCEDURE

To formulate stable dispersions for application to the litters as in theExamples 1-41, the boric acid and NaOH are added to the water, stirringto dissolve (approximately 10 minutes). Then, the surfactants are addedto the solution, until evenly into solution (5-10 minutes). Finally, thepine oil is added until a milky appearance ("bloom") fully develops (5-7minutes).

This dispersion is then sprayed onto a moving bed of litter particles,although there are other techniques of delivering the dispersion, e.gs.,fluid bed, drum coating, spray tower, vibrating bed, and other waysknown to those skilled in the art. At least 20%, most preferably 30%, ofthe litter particles are substantially fully coated.

In TABLE I below, Examples 1-4 were compared against an untreated litterfor performance benefits. As can be seen from the data, effective odorcontrol was attained by diverse combinations of pine oil and boric acid.

                  TABLE I                                                         ______________________________________                                        Performance Data                                                                       Formulation   Ammonia                                                         Pine Oil,   Boric Acid,                                                                             generated,                                     Example  %           %         ppm                                            ______________________________________                                        Control  --          --        1,050                                          1        0.15        0.45      30                                             2        0.20        0.30      60                                             3        0.20        0.45      24                                             4        0.20        0.50       6                                             ______________________________________                                    

In TABLES II and III below, further examples of the litter with theinventive combined odor controlling system were demonstrated. Theeffectiveness of the combined system was dramatically superior.

                                      TABLE II                                    __________________________________________________________________________    Summary of Formulas and stabilities                                           __________________________________________________________________________    Ingredient &                                                                             Example                                                            Formula Wt. %                                                                            6   7    8    9   10   11  12   13   14   15   16                  __________________________________________________________________________    Water      90.6                                                                              90.6 91.4 89.6                                                                              89.6 90.4                                                                              94.7 86.6 85.8 87.1 82.7                Dispersant                                                                    Nonionic Surfactant 1.sup.1                                                              1.0           1.0                                                  Nonionic Surfactant 2.sup.2                                                                  1.0           1.0                                              Cationic Surfactant.sup.3                                                                         0.2           0.2 0.2  0.2  0.2  0.2  0.2                 Sodium Hydroxide                                                                         0.6 0.6  0.6  1.1 1.1  1.1 0.4  1.7  1.5  1.1  1.1                 Boric Acid 3.3 3.3  3.3  5.8 5.8  5.8 2.2  9.0  8.0  5.6  6.0                 Pine Oil.sup.4                                                                           4.5 4.5  4.5  2.5 2.5  2.5 2.5  2.5  4.5  6.0  10.0                Stability  30 min.                                                                           30 min.                                                                            unstable                                                                           30 min.                                                                           30 min.                                                                            30 min.                                                                           unstable                                                                           unstable                                                                           unstable                                                                           unstable                                                                           unstable            (Maximum time)                                                                __________________________________________________________________________    Ingredient &                                                                             Example                                                            Formula Wt. %                                                                            17  18  19  20  21  22  23  24  25  26  27  28  29                 __________________________________________________________________________    Water      80.4                                                                              80.4                                                                              80.7                                                                              81.0                                                                              79.9                                                                              79.9                                                                              79.9                                                                              76.4                                                                              74.4                                                                              80.3                                                                              78.3                                                                              76.4                                                                              74.4               Dispersant                                                                    Nonionic Surfactant 1.sup.1                                                                  1.2 1.0 0.8     2.0 1.2 0.6 0.6 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8                Nonionic Surfactant 2.sup.2                                                              1.8 0.6 0.5 0.4 3.0 1.0 0.6 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4                Cationic Surfactant.sup.3                                                     Sodium Hydroxide                                                                         1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.1 1.1 1.2 2.7 3.0 1.8 2.1 2.4 2.7                Boric Acid 10.0                                                                              10.0                                                                              10.0                                                                              10.0                                                                              6.0 6.0 6.7 15.0                                                                              16.7                                                                              10.0                                                                              11.7                                                                              13.3                                                                              15.0               Pine Oil.sup.4                                                                           6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 10.0                                                                              10.0                                                                              10.0                                                                              5.0 5.0 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7                Stability  30 min.                                                                           30 min.                                                                           15 min.                                                                           15 min.                                                                           30 min.                                                                           15 min.                                                                           15 min.                                                                           15 min.                                                                           15 min.                                                                           15 min.                                                                           15 min.                                                                           15                                                                                15 min.            (Maximum time)                                                                __________________________________________________________________________    Ingredient &                                                                             Example                                                            Formula Wt. %                                                                            30  31  32   33  34  35  36  37   38  39  40   41                  __________________________________________________________________________    Water      72.4                                                                              70.1                                                                              68.6 76.4                                                                              74.5                                                                              72.5                                                                              70.5                                                                              76.5 74.4                                                                              72.5                                                                              70.5 68.5                Dispersant                                                                    Nonionic Surfactant 1.sup.1                                                              0.8 0.8 0.9  1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.2  1.2 1.2 1.2  1.2                 Nonionic Surfactant 2.sup.2                                                              0.4 0.4 0.4  0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.6  0.6 0.6 0.6  0.6                 Cationic Surfactant.sup.3                                                     Sodium Hydroxide                                                                         3.0 3.5 3.5  2.1 2.4 2.7 3.0 1.8  2.1 2.4 2.7  3.0                 Boric Acid 16.7                                                                              18.5                                                                              18.5 11.7                                                                              13.3                                                                              15.0                                                                              16.7                                                                              10.0 11.7                                                                              13.3                                                                              15.0 16.7                Pine Oil.sup.4                                                                           6.7 6.7 8.0  8.3 8.3 8.3 8.3 10.0 10.0                                                                              10.0                                                                              10.0 10.0                Stability  15 min.                                                                           10 min.                                                                           10 min.                                                                            15 min.                                                                           15 min.                                                                           15 min.                                                                           15 min.                                                                           15 min.                                                                            15 min.                                                                           15 min.                                                                           unstable                                                                           unstable            (Maximum time)                                                                __________________________________________________________________________     .sup.1 Neodol 918, a C.sub.9-11 fatty alcohol ethoxylate with 8 moles         ethylene oxide, from Shell Chemical Co.                                       .sup.2 Triton X102, an octylphenol ethoxylate, with 12-13 moles of            ethylene oxide, from Rohm & Haas Co.                                          .sup.3 A dimethyl, difatty alkyl quaternary ammonium chloride from Sherex     Chemical Co.                                                                  .sup.4 A pine oil with 61% terpene alcohols, 37% terpene hydrocarbons,        from Union Camp.                                                         

In TABLE III, Examples 6-41 were compared against untreated litters forperformance benefits. In the data, each example was compared against acontrol, an untreated clay. Performance was measured as NH₃ generated bya sample as a percentage of that generated by the control. As can beseen from the data, effective odor control was attained by diversecombinations of pine oil and boric acid.

                                      TABLE III                                   __________________________________________________________________________    Performance Results                                                           __________________________________________________________________________            Example                                                                       6     7     8     9     10    11     12    13    14                   __________________________________________________________________________    % Additives                                                                           .3P, .2B                                                                            .3P, .2B                                                                            .3P, .2B                                                                            .15P, .35B                                                                          .15P, .35B                                                                          .15P, .35B                                                                           .15P, .14B                                                                          .15P,                                                                               .3P, .5B             Delivered.sup.1, 2, 3                                                         ppm NH.sub.3 as a                                                                     0.8   1.4   1.4   1.4   0.8   2.3    0.0   0.0   0.0                  % of Control.sup.4                                                            __________________________________________________________________________            Example                                                                       15    16    17   18   19    20   21   22    23   24                   __________________________________________________________________________    % Additives                                                                           .36P, 35B                                                                           .3P, .2B                                                                            .2P, .3B                                                                           .2P, .3B                                                                           .2P, .3B                                                                            .2P, .3B                                                                           .3P, .2B                                                                           .3P, .2B                                                                            .3P,                                                                               .15P, .45B           Delivered.sup.1, 2, 3                                                         ppm NH.sub.3 as a                                                                     0.0   0.0   0.0  0.0  0.0   0.0  0.0  0.0   0.0  1.3                  % of Control.sup.4                                                            __________________________________________________________________________            Example                                                                       25   26    27   28   29    30   31    32    33    34                  __________________________________________________________________________    % Additives                                                                           .15P, .5B                                                                          .2P, .3B                                                                            .2P, .35B                                                                          .2P, .4B                                                                           .2P, .45B                                                                           .2P, .5B                                                                           .2P, .5B                                                                            .24P, .55B                                                                          .25P,                                                                               .25P, .4B           Delivered.sup.1, 2, 3                                                         ppm NH.sub.3 as a                                                                     --   1.3   0.0  --   1.3   1.3  --    --    --    --                  % of Control.sup.4                                                            __________________________________________________________________________                               Example                                                                       35    36   37   38   39   40   41                  __________________________________________________________________________                       % Additives                                                                           .25P, .45B                                                                          .25P, .5B                                                                          .3P, .3B                                                                           .3P, .35P                                                                          .3P, .4B                                                                           .3P,                                                                               .2P, .5B                               Delivered.sup.1, 2, 3                                                         ppm NH.sub.3 as a                                                                     --    --   --   --   0.0  --   --                                     % of Control.sup.4                                         __________________________________________________________________________     .sup.1 Calculated by 30 g. of formula applied to 400 g. of clay litter.       .sup.2 P = % pine oil.                                                        .sup.3 B = % boric acid.                                                      .sup.4 Calculated by running 3 replicates of each 50 g. example, and an       untreated 50 g. clay litter sample as a control. Each sample and control      was dosed with 50 ml. urine.                                             

The invention is not limited herein to the specific examplesdemonstrated and includes those equivalents which would be known tothose skilled in the art. The invention is further embodied in theclaims which follow.

We claim:
 1. A liquid composition for deodorizing animal waste by directcontact therewith, said composition comprising:anammonia-controlling-effective combination of 0.003-50% pine oil and0.06-50% of a borate-based compound selected from the group consistingof polyborate, borax, and a boric acid/borax mixture, said combinationcarried in a liquid dispersion.
 2. The liquid composition of claim 1wherein said liquid dispersion is selected from the group consisting ofwater, solvent, and water combined with a surfactant, hydrotrope orsolvent dispersion aid.
 3. The liquid composition of claim 2 whereinsaid dispersion is aqueous and said dispersion aid is selected from thegroup consisting of anionic, nonionic, cationic, amphoteric surfactants,and mixtures thereof.
 4. The liquid composition of claim 3 wherein saidsurfactant is at least one nonionic surfactant.
 5. The liquidcomposition of claim 4 wherein said surfactant further comprises amixture of an ethoxylated fatty alcohol and an ethoxylated alkylphenol.6. The liquid composition of claim 1 wherein said boron-based compoundis a polyborate.
 7. A method of delivering anammonia-controlling-effective amount of odor controlling agent to ananimal waste comprising: applying directly to said waste an aqueousdispersion which comprises a mixture of an ammonia-controlling-effectiveamount of pine oil and a borate-based compound selected from the groupconsisting of polyborate, borax and boric acid/borax mixture.